Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by Simon & Garfunkel
Released June 14, 1972
Recorded March 1964 – November 1969
Genre Folk rock
Length 43:25
Label Columbia
Producer Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee
Simon & Garfunkel chronology

Bridge Over Troubled Water
(1970)		 Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
(1972)		 Collected Works
(1981)

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits is the first compilation album from Simon & Garfunkel, released on June 14, 1972, two years after the duo had split.

Overview

The album was a mix of original studio recordings and four previously unreleased live recordings. The album's minimalist packaging does not specifically date the latter; however, the live versions of "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" and "Kathy's Song" included on Greatest Hits were also included on the 2008 album Live 1969. The liner notes to Live 1969 state that these two songs were both recorded at a November 1969 concert in St. Louis, Missouri. According to the liner notes from Collected Works, however, the version of "Kathy's Song" was taken from a 1968 concert in Vermont.

In a 1975 BBC Radio 1 interview, Roy Halee identified this version of "The 59th Street Bridge Song" as being from Simon & Garfunkel's 1970 performance at Carnegie Hall, "the last concert they did together" (prior to their disbanding later in 1970). A live version of "Homeward Bound" was also included on the album.

The remaining ten studio songs comprise nine singles released between 1965 and 1972, "America" being issued as a single several years after its appearance as a track on the Bookends album, and one album track, "Bookends" (without its parent song "Old Friends").

All the singles included, except "America," "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)," and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" made the Top Ten, with the latter peaking at #11, and "Mrs. Robinson" topped the chart aided by its appearance in Mike Nichols' hit movie The Graduate. "The Sound of Silence" and "Bridge over Troubled Water" both peaked at #1 as singles in their studio versions, and "The Boxer" peaked as a single at #7.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Rolling Stone (favorable) [2]

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits peaked on the U.S. albums chart at #5. On the UK Album Chart, it was a #2 hit. The album has proven a long and durable seller, currently being certified for 14 million units sold in the U.S. alone. It is easily their best-selling album in the U.S., and holds the record in the U.S. for the best-selling album by a duo.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 293 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Track listing

All songs composed by Paul Simon unless otherwise noted.

Side one

  1. "Mrs. Robinson" – 3:51
  2. "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" (live) – 2:25
  3. "The Boxer" – 5:10
  4. "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" (live) – 1:50
  5. "The Sound of Silence" – 3:05
  6. "I Am a Rock" – 2:52
  7. "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (Traditional; arranged by Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel) – 3:09

Side two

  1. "Homeward Bound" (live) – 2:42
  2. "Bridge over Troubled Water" – 4:52
  3. "America" – 3:33
  4. "Kathy's Song" (live) – 3:23
  5. "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" (Daniel Alomía Robles; English lyrics by Paul Simon, arranged by Jorge Milchberg) – 3:07
  6. "Bookends" – 1:20
  7. "Cecilia" – 2:53

Charts and certifications

Peak positions

Chart Position
Australian Kent Music Report[3] 10
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[4] 5
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[5] 2
Dutch Albums Chart[6] 1
German Media Control Albums Chart[7] 6
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[8] 3
New Zealand Albums Chart[9] 12
Norwegian Albums Chart[10] 7
Spanish Albums Chart[11] 2
Swedish Kvällstoppen Chart[12] 2
UK Albums Chart[13] 2
US Billboard 200[14] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1972) Position
Dutch Albums Chart[15] 3
UK Albums Chart[16] 3
US Top Pop Albums[17] 72

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[18] 5× Platinum 500,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[19] Gold 33,092[19]
France (SNEP)[20] Diamond 1,000,000*
Italy (FIMI)[21] Gold 50,000*
Japan (Oricon Charts) 123,000[8]
Germany (BVMI)[22] 2× Platinum 1,000,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[23] Platinum 15,000*[24]
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[25] 4× Platinum 200,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] 2× Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] 14× Platinum 14,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Preceded by
Voor de 3de keer Alle 13 goed! by Various artists		 Dutch Chart number-one album
August 19 - September 23, 1972 		Succeeded by
Close to the Edge by Yes

See also

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic Review
  2. ↑ Rolling Stone Review
  3. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ↑ "ultratop.be Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  5. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 18, No. 4, September 09 1972". RPM. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  6. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  7. ↑ "Album Search: Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  9. ↑ "charts.org.nz Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  10. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits" (ASP). Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  11. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  12. ↑ "Swedish Charts 1969–1972 / Kvällstoppen – Listresultaten vecka för vecka > Augusti 1972 > 15 Augusti" (PDF) (in Swedish). hitsallertijden.nl. Retrieved 2014-04-29. Note: Kvällstoppen combined sales for albums and singles in the one chart. Greatest Hits peaked at the number-four on the hit parade, next to two singles — "Sister Jane" by New World and "Beautiful Sunday" by Daniel Boone.
  13. ↑ "Simon & Garfunkel > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  14. ↑ "allmusic ((( Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
  15. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1972" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  16. ↑ "The Official UK Charts Company : ALBUM CHART HISTORY". 2007-12-17. Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  17. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1972". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  18. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Simon and Garfunkel – Greatest Hits". Music Canada.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 The first web page presents the sales figures, the second presents the certification limits:
  20. ↑ "French album certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits" (in French). InfoDisc. Select SIMON & GARFUNKEL and click OK
  21. ↑ "Italian album certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter Simon & Garfunkel in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
  22. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Simon & Garfunkel; 'Greatest Hits')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  23. ↑ "Gold Disc Award 1979". IFPI. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
  24. ↑ "Gold Disc Award Criteria". IFPI. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
  25. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Simon & Garfunkel; 'Greatest Hits')". Hung Medien.
  26. ↑ "British album certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Greatest Hits in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  27. ↑ "American album certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH